US Military Helicopter Crashes in Iraq

The U.S. military says a helicopter has crashed in northern Iraq, killing all 12 Americans believed to be on board.

Military officials say they are investigating the crash of the Blackhawk in a sparsely populated area near the border with Syria on Sunday. They said military personnel discovered the crash site 12 hours after losing communication with the helicopter.

Elsewhere, U.S. officials said gunmen killed three Marines in separate incidents in Fallujah. Members of the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars criticized U.S. forces over a raid on a mosque in the Iraqi capital. U.S. officials said six people were detained in what they called an anti-terrorist operation. And a French engineer, Bernard Planche, has been freed nearly a month after being seized by insurgents.

On the political front, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says leaders of the country's political parties have agreed in principle to form a national unity government.